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	FIRESDIE CHATS INAUGURATE POPULAR FALL SEASON By: Christine Retz, Fireside Chats Director OCTOBER 19, 2008 One winter Fireside Chats series has proved to be so attractive that we have added two events for this autumn by popular demand. The crisp autumn days with their bright leaves and hint of winter soon to come are the perfect time to gather to discuss people and places of the Revolutionary War. We are very pleased to have secured John Cunningham, one of the founders of the New Jersey Historical Commission, as our speaker on Saturday, October 4, 2 p.m. at the Van Wickle House, 1289 Easton Ave. His topic this cozy afternoon will be his most recent book, The Uncertain Revolution: Washington and the Continental Army at Morristown. He will explore the overlooked Revolutionary War winters of General George Washington’s army encampments at Morristown and nearby Middlebrook. He makes the case that the Continental Army and the American Revolution may have survived from 1777 until 1781 because of the geological fortress of New Jersey’s Watchung Mountains and because of the residents of the region’s small towns and farms. He also explores the founding of the country’s first National Historical Park in 1933 to preserve the physical places where Washington and his army survived in the Watchungs. MEADOWS FOUNDATION MARKS GAY PRIDE MONTH WITH WHITMAN SALUTE May 5, 2008 To mark its first celebration of Gay Pride Month, the Meadows Foundation in Somerset will hold a "Salute to Walt Whitman." This talk will be held on Friday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. at Tulipwood, 1165 Hamilton Street, Somerset. Walt Whitman, known as "the father of free verse," is one of the most influential poets in the American canon. Known especially for his poetry collection “Leaves of Grass” Whitman’s work was very controversial in its time and banned in Boston. “Leaves of Grass,” first published in 1855 and revised continually until Whitman’s death in 1892, was described as obscene for its overt representations of human sexuality. COOL WOMEN POETS OF NEW JERSEY October 11, 2007 Come hear the Cool Women Poets of New Jersey, eight Princeton-area poets who will be reading at Tulipwood on November 3, 2007 at 2 p.m. They began as a monthly critique group and are now requested to perform their jazz-like synthesis of themed reading virtually every month, by no means limited to New Jersey. Much published on their own, the group has three anthologies and a CD to their current credit. Their theme in honor of Tulipwood will be "This Old House." This ensemble of widely published poets gives a lively reading of poems that tell the truth. Bring your teenagers and shock them! PRESERVATIONIST NEWSLETTER April 27, 2007 Thanks to everyone for your continued support and positive feedback. We are reaching many more people than ever before and are very happy to continue to serve the preservation community with PreservationDirectory.com (We have averaged over 3 million hits per month since re-launching the site!). Below are just some of the exciting new additions and features recently added to the site. MEADOWS FOUNDATION HISTORIC HOUSES SEEK VOLUNTEERS FOR CLEANUP April 17, 2007 SOMERSET, NJ - Located in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, several historic Properties are seeking help in cleaning up from the water damage caused by recent rains and D&R Canal flooding. Volunteer Board members and resident caretakers are continuing efforts from yesterday to keep the damage at a minimum as basements and the bookstore are flooded. The Van Wickle House, built in 1722,faces the D&R Canal along Easton Avenue at DeMott lane. Dr. Bruce Hamilton and his wife Ellen were joined by Gary Randolph and Joe Pellicane to clean up water in the basement and Vergano Center. FRANKLIN TWP: RE-ENACTOR DEPICTS WOMEN IN CIVIL WAR Bridgewater Courier News February 28, 2007 The Meadows Foundation will present Civil War re-enactor Trish Chambers at the Hageman Farm, 209 S. Middlebush Road, Somerset section of Franklin, at 2 p.m. March 10. Performing in period costume, Chambers tells a story that takes the listener into the world of Civil War women — a world that became more complex than knitting socks and baking bread. SALLY B. SHARP AND STEPHANI R. FRIED CELEBRATE UNION AT THE VAN WICKLE HOUSE New York Times February 26, 2007 SOMERSET, NJ- Sally B. Sharp and Stephani R. Fried of Milltown, N.J., were joined in a civil union last evening at the Van Wickle House, a historic home and events space operated by the Meadows Foundation in Somerset, N.J. Rabbi Ruth E. Smith officiated. PRESERVATION GROUP GIVES PAST HOMES A FUTURE By: Pamela Sroka, Staff Writer Courier News, Saturday, October 14, 2006 FRANKLIN (SOMERSET) -- It all started with the Van Wickle House, which might have become a strip mall if a nonprofit organization had not stepped in to save the structure 30 years ago. It was the vision of the Somerset-based Meadows Foundation founders who started the nonprofit organization in 1976 to give the past a future by preserving and restoring historic sites with an emphasis on early Dutch and American heritage, said Mark Else, executive director of the foundation. The Van Wickle House, a Dutch house on Easton Avenue, could have fallen into the hands of developers looking to build a strip mall after out-of-state owners offered it for sale in 1976. TAKING TIME TO SMELL THE FLOWERS By: Susan Loyer Staff Writer Home News Tribune Online, Wednesday, October 19, 2006 MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Phyllis Garvin, 13, of Trenton, dipped her finger into peat moss, making a small hole in the soil in the potting planter in front of her. She then carefully placed a begonia clipping in the hole before covering it over with dirt. "Make sure the area where I took off the leaves is covered," said Mary Anne McMillan, chair of the Horticultural Therapy Committee of the Middlesex County Master Gardener program and volunteer coordinator at Rutgers Gardens. "You might even have to take a few leaves off."